A new book out this week by Deepak Chopra and Rudolph E. Tanzi argues that genes aren’t static and unchangeable. In fact, the book — “Super Genes” — suggests lifestyle factors, diet, and even stress levels can alter your genes in ways both positive and negative.

“Gene activity responds to your lifestyle — your thoughts, your feelings, your actions, your stress levels, your diet,” Tanzi, a neuroscientist at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, tells the New York Post.

While you can’t modify the DNA that’s passed on from your family, Tanzi suggests that “most of what you inherit is written in clay rather than in stone. That means you have a chance to be the sculptor.”

The book suggests changes in lifestyle that alter your genetic profile might even be passed on.

“Human beings could be the first creatures in the history of life on Earth to self-direct where their evolution is going,” the authors write.

Not everyone is sold on the idea.

“There’s not a shred of evidence that humans can change their genes in a permanent way via changes in our lifestyle,” writes Jerry Coyne, from the University of Chicago’s Department of Ecology & Evolution, in response to the book’s claims.